While NBC went for the big music name for The Sound of Music Live, the peacock network is going a different direction with Peter Pan Live. Allison Williams has been picked for the lead role.
Williams has shown off her pipes on Girls, the HBO show created by and co-starring Lena Dunham. She plays Marine Michaels on the show and has also made appearances on The Mindy Project and The League. Of course, she just happens to be the daughter of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.
“We couldn’t be happier that Allison Williams is our Peter Pan,” NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statement. “She’s a lovely rising star on the award-winning show Girls -- where she occasionally shows off her incredible vocal talent -- and we think she will bring the perfect blend of ‘boyish’ vulnerability and bravado to save the day against Christopher Walken’s powerful Captain Hook.”
Executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron called Williams a “major find” and expressed confidence in her ability to “reinvent” the iconic character. “The score will be sung beautifully and introduced to a whole new generation of families,” they said.
Williams said that she’s wanted to play the part since she was a toddler. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this adventure, and I’m very excited to get to work with this extraordinarily talented team,” she said. And besides...what could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?"
Williams will square off against Christopher Walken who was cast as Captain Hook earlier this month. The network announced that Peter Pan would be the follow-up to Sound of Music, which starred Carrie Underwood, in January.
Peter Pan Life will be broadcast live on Dec. 4.
image courtesy of William Bernard/ACE/INFphoto.com